'Cats Fall 4-3 to ASU in NCAA First Round

MALIBU, Calif. - After a tough battle, No. 35 Northwestern women's tennis fell just short on Friday afternoon in Malibu, concluding their NCAA Tournament run in the first round with a 4-3 loss to the No. 27 Arizona State Sun Devils.

For the second straight postseason match, the 'Cats scored the match's first point with a pair of doubles victories. Sydney Pratt and Neena Feldman secured a 6-4 win on the second court, then Britany Lau and Maria Shusharina locked up a 6-4 victory of their own at #3.

Up 1-0, Northwestern got off to a strong start in singles play. Lau continued her day with a quick 6-2, 6-4 victory at #6 singles - her third straight win in singles action. Shusharina also won in straight sets at #1, upsetting No. 74 Giulia Morlet with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Arizona State staged a comeback from there, winning each of the next three courts to even the score at three apiece.

With the score knotted, the match and each team's tournament hopes came down to singles #3, where Christina Hand took on ASU's Marianna Argyrokastr. Hand dropped the first set 3-6, then bounced back with a 6-3 win in set two. The third set was the most closely contested, concluding with a tiebreak game after the players tied 6-6. Argyrokastr had the advantage in the final game, securing a 7-1 victory in the game, a 7-6 victory in the set, and a 4-3 victory for the Sun Devils overall.

Their Tournament journey concluded, the 2024 Wildcats finished with an overall record of 19-8 (9-2 B1G). The season included a perfect 11-0 record in Evanston and seven ranked victories, highlighted by No. 46 Kansas and an upset over No. 30 Wisconsin. This year's NCAA Tournament appearance was Northwestern's 27th trip in the last 28 seasons.

'Cats Fall 4-3 to ASU in NCAA First Round

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Neena Feldman

Christina Hand

Britany Lau

Sydney Pratt

Maria Shusharina

Northwestern University Athletics